Discuss the recent measures initiated in disaster management by the Government of India departing from the earlier reactive approach.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Show how India has moved from relief-centred response to prevention, mitigation and preparedness, with recent measures.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Establish the shift: from a relief-centred, reactive approach to risk reduction across the disaster cycle
- Discuss the recent measures that embody the shift: planning, agenda, early warning, resilient infrastructure, funding and community capacity, and the gaps that remain
Open with · The 1999 Odisha super cyclone killed about 10,000 people; Cyclone Fani in 2019, by the Home Minister's account to Parliament, one. That contrast captures India's shift from relief after the event to managing risk before it, which the Disaster Management Act, 2005 began and recent measures have deepened.
Cover
- Shift: the 2005 Act created the NDMA, SDMAs and DDMAs and the full cycle of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery; the NDMP (2016, revised 2019) is aligned with the Sendai Framework.
- Ten-Point Agenda (2016): risk reduction in every development sector, risk cover for all, women's leadership, risk mapping, technology.
- Early warning: IMD, INCOIS and CWC forecasts pushed through a Common Alerting Protocol-based alert system covering all 36 States and UTs; CDRI launched by India in 2019; National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project.
- Funding: the 15th Finance Commission earmarked 20% of disaster grants for national and State mitigation funds and 80% for response, within Rs 1,60,153 crore for States over 2021-26.
- Community: Aapda Mitra's 1,00,000 trained volunteers in 350 districts, NDRF drills, school and hospital safety; gaps in local capacity, building-code enforcement and risk data.
Close with · Measuring success in lives not lost per event, and funding prevention as generously as relief, is how India meets the Sendai Framework's 2030 goals and makes 'zero casualty' the norm rather than the exception.
Add value (verified)
- NDMP 2019: the plan takes forward the Sendai Framework (2015-2030) targets and seeks coherence with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.National Disaster Management Plan 2019 - NDMA, Government of India ↗“Taking forward the country's agenda for achievement of targets set under Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction - SFDRR (2015 -2030), the Plan has also focused on achieving a coherence with other international agreements such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP 21).”
- 15th Finance Commission: of the earmarked disaster management grants, national and State, 20% is for mitigation funds and 80% for response funds.Fifteenth Finance Commission, Report for 2021-26, Volume I (Main Report), chapter on Disaster Risk Management ↗“From the total earmarked grants for disaster management, both for the national and State corpus, 20 per cent was Fifteenth Finance Commission 224 earmarked for mitigation and the remaining 80 per cent for the response fund.”
- 15th Finance Commission: total corpus of Rs 1,60,153 crore for States' disaster management over 2021-26 (Union share Rs 1,22,601 crore, States' share Rs 37,552 crore).Fifteenth Finance Commission, Report for 2021-26, Volume I (Main Report), summary of recommendations ↗“Assuming an annual increase of 5 per cent, we arrive at the total corpus of Rs.1,60,153 crore for States for disaster management for the duration of 2021-26, of which the Union share is Rs. 1,22,601 crore and States share is Rs. 37,552 crore.”
- Aapda Mitra: 1,00,000 community volunteers trained in disaster rescue in 350 multi-hazard districts; a Common Alerting Protocol-based Integrated Alert System sends geo-targeted alerts in all 36 States/UTs by SMS, TV, radio, railways, coastal sirens and cell broadcast (MHA, December 2024).PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, December 2024: Disaster Preparedness and Climate Resilience (Parliament reply) ↗“Aapda Mitra Scheme, has been implemented and 1,00,000 community volunteers have been trained in disaster rescue in 350 multi-hazards disaster prone districts, covering all States/UTs.”
- Home Minister in Rajya Sabha (March 2025): the 1999 Odisha super cyclone killed 10,000 people; Cyclone Fani (2019) killed one, the result of the changed approach.PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 25 March 2025: Union Home Minister replies to the discussion on the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Rajya Sabha ↗“He said that when the Odisha Super Cyclone hit in 1999, 10 thousand people died, but when Cyclone Fani hit in 2019, only one person died, this was the result of our changed approach.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 348words · Minimalist IAS
The 1999 Odisha super cyclone killed about 10,000 people; Cyclone Fani in 2019, by the Home Minister's account to Parliament, one. That contrast captures India's shift from relief after the event to managing risk before it, which the Disaster Management Act, 2005 began and recent measures have deepened.
From a reactive to a risk-reduction approach
- Legal spine: the 2005 Act created the NDMA, SDMAs and DDMAs and defined the full cycle of prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
- Global alignment: the National Disaster Management Plan (2016, revised 2019) is aligned with the Sendai Framework and seeks coherence with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.
- 2005: DM Act
- 2016: NDMP and PM's Ten-Point Agenda
- 2019: CDRI launched
- 2021-26: 15th FC mitigation funds
Recent measures that embody the shift
- Ten-Point Agenda (2016): mainstream risk reduction in every development sector, risk cover for all, women's leadership, risk mapping and technology.
- Early warning, last mile: IMD cyclone, INCOIS tsunami and CWC flood forecasts, now pushed through a Common Alerting Protocol-based integrated alert system that sends geo-targeted alerts by SMS, TV, radio, cell broadcast and coastal sirens in all 36 States and UTs.
- Resilient infrastructure: the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, launched by India in 2019, and the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project.
- Money for mitigation: the 15th Finance Commission earmarked 20% of disaster grants for national and State mitigation funds and 80% for response, within Rs 1,60,153 crore for States over 2021-26.
- Community capacity: Aapda Mitra had trained 1,00,000 volunteers by 2024 in 350 multi-hazard districts, each with a responder kit and insurance; NDRF mock drills, school and hospital safety, GIS and drones.
- State model: Odisha's early, large-scale evacuation before cyclones, which held Fani's toll to a minimum.
Gaps that remain
- Local weakness: thin capacity in panchayats and municipalities, lax enforcement of building codes and land use, and patchy risk data; risk-informed planning must reach the local level.
Measuring success in lives not lost per event, and funding prevention as generously as relief, is how India meets the Sendai Framework's 2030 goals and makes 'zero casualty' the norm rather than the exception.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
